When do you allow yourself to take a sick day? Only when you're hugging the toilet? Or... do you let yourself take a sick day to de-stress and gain better mental health?

We've all had those days, right? You have to go to work, but you're either completely exhausted, on the verge of tears, or perhaps moments away from what feels like a mental breakdown. Do you choose to take a sick day or do you suck it up and go to work anyway, for fear that your coworkers or boss will think less of you for staying home on a day when you're not stricken with a contagious illness?

Well, one woman's story of how she chose to use her sick days for "mental health" has gone viral after she shared the response she got from a very understanding CEO.

Madalyn Parker is a web developer from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and here was the email exchange she had with her CEO that has since been retweeted more than 10,000 times:

"Hey team,

I'm taking today and tomorrow to focus on my mental health.Hopefully I'll be back next week refreshed and back to 100%.

Thanks, Madalyn"

Here is the reply from her CEO:

"Hey Madalyn,

I just wanted to personally thank you for sending emails like this. Every time you do, I use it as a reminder of the importance of using sick days for mental health -- I can't believe this is not standard practice at all organizations. You are an example to us all, and help cut through the stigma so we can all bring our whole selves to work."

When the CEO responds to your out of the office email about taking sick leave for mental health and reaffirms your decision. ?? pic.twitter.com/6BvJVCJJFq

People around the world applauded Madalyn's CEO for being so understanding. One woman even shared a very different email she received once from a professor saying, "I'll never forget this email I sent to one of my law professors and her reply."

"It is incredibly hard to be honest about mental health in the typical workplace. In situations like this, it is so easy to tell your teammates you are 'not feeling well.' Even in the safest environment, it is still uncommon to be direct with your coworkers about mental health issues. I wanted to call this out and express gratitude for Madalyn’s bravery in helping us normalize mental health as a normal health issue...

I had no idea my response would become so visible—he reactions revealed that my stance on mental health in the workplace is unconventional, to say the least:

I started realizing how impactful my email had been after I began reading some of the responses to Madalyn's tweet.

Some of the responses brought tears to my eyes (there are 100s like this).

Bless omg. I have to say that i'm sick because my office don't wanna take excuse along the line of 'taking a day off to treat my sanity'

There were so many stories of people wishing they worked at a place where their CEO cared about their health, and so many people congratulating me on doing such a good thing. This should be business as usual. We have a lot of work to do.

It’s 2017. I cannot believe that it is still controversial to speak about mental health in the workplace when 1 in 6 Americans are medicated for mental health.

It’s 2017. I cannot believe that it is still controversial to offer paid sick leave. Did you know that only 73% of full-time employees in the US have paid sick leave?

It’s 2017. We are in a knowledge economy. Our jobs require us to execute at peak mental performance. When an athlete is injured they sit on the bench and recover. Let’s get rid of the idea that somehow the brain is different."

Sonic believes America is ready to wash down their burgers with some frozen pickle juice. The fast food chain plans to unveil a pickle juice slush for a limited time starting this June. As the name suggests, the drink is a snow cone-like beverage flavored with pickle juice and colored bright green.

Sonic believes America is ready to wash down their burgers with some frozen pickle juice. The fast food chain plans to unveil a pickle juice slush for a limited time starting this June. As the name suggests, the drink is a snow cone-like beverage flavored with pickle juice and colored bright green.

A North Carolina father is finding a recent video posted of him singing the Toy's R Us jingle in "A Minor" is a huge hit. Chase Holfelder recorded the video of the much slower and more dramatic version of the infamous jingle in his children's playroom shortly after news broke that Toys R' Us would be shuttering stores nationwide and laying off an estimated 31,000 employees.

A North Carolina father is finding a recent video posted of him singing the Toy's R Us jingle in "A Minor" is a huge hit. Chase Holfelder recorded the video of the much slower and more dramatic version of the infamous jingle in his children's playroom shortly after news broke that Toys R' Us would be shuttering stores nationwide and laying off an estimated 31,000 employees.

United Airlines says it's investigating after mistakenly flying a Kansas family's dog to Japan. KCTV reports that Kara Swindle and her two children flew from Oregon to Kansas City, Missouri, Tuesday on a United flight.

United Airlines says it's investigating after mistakenly flying a Kansas family's dog to Japan. KCTV reports that Kara Swindle and her two children flew from Oregon to Kansas City, Missouri, Tuesday on a United flight.

A juvenile man has been arrested after leading law enforcement on a chase Sunday afternoon. According to the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office, the juvenile was picked up in Lockwood by the owner of a pickup truck.

A juvenile man has been arrested after leading law enforcement on a chase Sunday afternoon. According to the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office, the juvenile was picked up in Lockwood by the owner of a pickup truck.

With the NAIA Women's National Basketball Tournament proving to be a success once again for Billings, it begs the question...does Billings need another arena to host large sporting events? Monday, Big Sky Economic Development will host a presentation with the findings in it's Yellowstone County Sports Facilities Feasibility Study. According to a press release, the study will provide findings on Yellowstone County's market needs assessment, community input, financial analysis, opportu...

With the NAIA Women's National Basketball Tournament proving to be a success once again for Billings, it begs the question...does Billings need another arena to host large sporting events? Monday, Big Sky Economic Development will host a presentation with the findings in it's Yellowstone County Sports Facilities Feasibility Study. According to a press release, the study will provide findings on Yellowstone County's market needs assessment, community input, financial analysis, opportu...

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ROUNDUP, Mont. (AP) - Flood warnings and advisories are being issued for parts of Montana due to ice jams and melting snow. Musselshell County authorities are warning residents in low-lying areas to watch for flooding caused by ice jams in the Musselshell River.

ROUNDUP, Mont. (AP) - Flood warnings and advisories are being issued for parts of Montana due to ice jams and melting snow. Musselshell County authorities are warning residents in low-lying areas to watch for flooding caused by ice jams in the Musselshell River.